Best of the 'Bus 2025 RESULTS

2025 Readers' Poll Winners

Who’s That?

Best Face of Columbus

Having won the title three years in a row, Ryan Day was chosen to take the honors and keeps the title with the Buckeyes for a fourth year.

  1. Ryan Day (The Ohio State University Buckeyes head football coach)
  2. Cameron Mitchell (CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants)
  3. Jim Tressel (Lieutenant Governor of Ohio)

Best Local Musician

  1. Joey & Jessica
  2. Bobby Floyd
  3. LDNL (Lt. Dan’s New Legs)

Best Hometown Mascot

Born in 1965 out of papier-mâché and spirit, Brutus has been cheering on his Buckeyes for decades. This marks the fourth year in a row he has taken this award home.  

  1. Brutus Buckeye from The Ohio State University
  2. Stinger from the Columbus Blue Jackets
  3. Crew Cat from the Columbus Crew

Grab a Bite

Best New Restaurant

Located at the corner of Lazelle and Broad streets in front of the PNC building, Butcher & Rose is one of Cameron Mitchell’s newest creations. It offers modern presentations to steakhouse classics and cuts from around the world, including Australia and Japan.

  1. Butcher & Rose
  2. Del Mar
  3. Hank’s Low Country Seafood & Raw Bar

Best Outdoor Dining

  1. Lindey’s Restaurant & Bar
  2. Grove City Brewing Company
  3. Cento

Best Rooftop Dining

New Category Alert! This is the first year this category is being featured. Check out this article to read more about the winners.

  1. VASO Rooftop Lounge
  2. RH Rooftop Restaurant (Restoration Hardware)
  3. Lincoln Social Rooftop

Best Barbecue

  1. City Barbeque
  2. Ray Ray’s Hog Pit
  3. Legacy Smokehouse

Best Ice Cream

  1. Graeter’s Ice Cream
  2. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
  3. Johnson’s Real Ice Cream

Best Wings

Whether you come for the wings, pizza or piled-high Roosters Nest, Roosters has a range of options that will fulfill all your game day needs. 

  1. Roosters
  2. Shakers Public House
  3. Koble Grill

Best Local Pizza

  1. Tommy’s Pizza
  2. Harvest Pizzeria
  3. Massey’s Pizza

Best Steakhouse

  1. Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse
  2. The Capital Grille
  3. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse

READER’S CHOICE: Best Tacos

New Category Alert! This category was suggested by you, our readers. What categories do you want next year? Let us know at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.

  1. Condado Tacos
  2. Dos Hermanos
  3. Cuco’s Taqueria

Best Burgers

Home of the Thurmanator, a burger stacked with two 12-ounce burgers and countless toppings, The Thurman Café has been flipping patties for Columbus since 1942.

  1. The Thurman Café
  2. The Dublin Village Tavern
  3. Johnnie’s Tavern

Best Bakery

Brothers Carl and Floyd Schneider started their bakery in 1954 out of the basement of a grocery store before moving it to its current location on South State Street in Westerville three years later. Now owned by Westerville native Shaun Stonerook, the bakery still makes the same goods. 

  1. Schneider’s Bakery
  2. Mrs. Goodman’s Baking Co.
  3. The Cheesecake Girl

Take a Sip

Best Coffee

  1. Fox in the Snow Café
  2. Stauf’s Coffee Roasters
  3. Java Central Café and Roaster

Best Place to Drink Your Brunch

Voted the Best New Restaurant just three years ago, Kitchen Social has been dazzling tastebuds with its brunch menu, which includes a plethora of options ranging from savory breakfast tacos to sweet crème brûlée French toast. Don’t miss out on its specialty brunch drinks, which include a mimosa sampler and cocktail named Brunch Bliss.

  1. Kitchen Social
  2. Lindey’s Restaurant & Bar
  3. Cap City Fine Diner and Bar

Best Brewery Experience

  1. BrewDog
  2. Land-Grant Brewing Company
  3. Grove City Brewing Company

Best Winery

Offering a range of dine-in menu options as well as wine tastings, a wine club and deliveries, Cooper’s Hawk is ready to wine and dine you and your guests in whatever way you need.

  1. Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant
  2. Buckeye Lake Winery
  3. Plum Run Winery

Best Distillery

  1. High Bank Distillery Co.
  2. Watershed Distillery
  3. Middle West Spirits

Best Retail Wine Selection

  1. Market District/Giant Eagle Supermarket
  2. Carfagna’s Italian Market
  3. The Hills Market

Best Retail Beer Selection

  1. Market District/Giant Eagle Supermarket
  2. Carfagna’s Italian Market
  3. Columbus Brewing Company

Best Happy Hour

  1. Kitchen Social
  2. Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern
  3. Forno Kitchen + Bar

See the Sights

Best New Exhibit

  1. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at COSI
  2. Indigenous Wonders of Our World - The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks at the Ohio History Center
  3. T. rex: The Ultimate Predator at COSI

Best Art Gallery

Located just two minutes from downtown Worthington, the McConnell hosts a variety of ticketed and free exhibitions, performances, and cultural opportunities in its roughly 110-year-old building.  

  1. McConnell Arts Center
  2. Dublin Arts Council
  3. Columbus Glass Art Center

Best Theater Troupe

  1. Shadowbox Live
  2. Short North Stage
  3. Columbus Children’s Theatre

Best Dance Troupe

  1. BalletMet
  2. Generations Performing Arts Center
  3. Columbus Dance Theatre

Best TV Binge

In its third season, this dark-comedy social satire follows the lives of a host of wealthy and privileged characters as they are faced with life and the effects of their choices.

  1. The White Lotus
  2. Bridgerton
  3. Reacher

Enjoy the Fun

Best Arts Performance (Since March 2024)

A collaboration the likes of Columbus has never seen before, West Side Story brought together four major arts groups and hundreds of viewers to create a show for the ages.

  1. West Side Story by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Opera Columbus, BalletMet and CAPA
  2. Sleepy Hollow by Shadowbox Live
  3. MJ the Musical by Broadway in Columbus

Best Summer Concert Series

  1. Picnic with the Pops by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
  2. Summer Concert Series in Grove City (previously the GC Summer Sizzle Concert Series)
  3. Sundays at Scioto in Dublin

Best Concert (Since March 2024)

When The Clancy World Tour came to Columbus last fall, the musical duo extended their tour an additional two days, making their Columbus stop a total of three days, so more fans could see the central Ohio natives in person. The group is also releasing a new album, Breach, this September.

  1. twenty one piløts at Ohio Stadium
  2. P!NK at The Schottenstein Center
  3. Windborne The Music of Led Zeppelin at Picnic with the Pops

Best Downtown Festival

  1. Columbus Arts Festival
  2. The Columbus Italian Festival
  3. Columbus Oktoberfest

Best Suburban Festival

Put on your best kilt and green clothing when you head over to Dublin this August for this three-day Irish festival that brings in artists, dancers, craftsmen and visitors from all over the world. 

  1. Dublin Irish Festival
  2. Westerville Area Chamber Music & Arts Festival
  3. Grove City Area Chamber Arts in the Alley

Best Food-Themed Festival

  1. Jazz & Rib Fest
  2. The Columbus Italian Festival
  3. Columbus Food Truck Festival

Best Drink-Themed Festival

  1. Columbus Oktoberfest
  2. Grove City Wine & Arts Festival
  3. Uptown Untapped

Best Fitness Event

Every August, cyclists flock to the start line not just to get their miles in, but to raise money for cancer research. Over the past 16 years, the organization has raised more than $309 million with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

  1. Pelotonia
  2. Arnold Sports Festival
  3. New Albany Walking Classic®

Best Charitable Gala

  1. BalletMet’s Nutcracker Ball
  2. Cancer Support Community of Central Ohio’s Night of Chocolate
  3. Columbus Museum of Art’s Wonderball

Spots to Stop at

Best Spot to Gamble

  1. Hollywood Casino
  2. Eldorado Scioto Downs
  3. DraftKings Sports & Social

Best Suburban Fourth of July Celebration

  1. City of Dublin
  2. Upper Arlington Civic Association
  3. City of Grove City

Best Hometown Product

With a rich history stretching back nearly 140 years, Schmidt’s has long been a household name. Its signature ginormous cream puffs made their debut in the 1960s thanks to Betty Tresselt, who brought them, along with other treats, with her from northern Germany when she began working with the family. 

  1. Cream puffs from Schmidt’s Sausage Haus
  2. Gourmet nuts from Krema Nut Co.
  3. Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Girl

Best Farmers’ Market

The team is doing something right as the Worthington Farmers Market also won the 2024 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Farmers Market and is vying for the spot again this year.

  1. Worthington Farmers Market
  2. Dublin Market at Bridge Park
  3. Healthy New Albany Farmers Market

Best Jewelry Store

  1. Worthington Jewelers
  2. Meyers Jewelers
  3. Diamond Cellar

Best Spa Day Out

Starting out with just two stylists and a $500 bank loan, PENZONE now has six locations and offers a wide range of services, including everything from makeup and hair to massages and nail services.

  1. PENZONE Salons + Spas
  2. Woodhouse Spas
  3. Panacea Luxury Spa

Best Gym/Fitness Center

  1. LIT Life + Yoga
  2. Dublin Community Recreation Center
  3. MAX Fitness & Wellness Center

Best Weekend Getaway

Check out this article to read more about the history and spooky stories surrounding this year’s winner.

  1. Hocking Hills
  2. Kelleys Island
  3. Amish Country

For Your Home Needs

Best Home Builder

Check out this article to read more about this year’s winner!

  1. 3 Pillar Homes
  2. Bob Webb Homes
  3. Romanelli & Hughes

Best Remodeling Company

Check out this article to read more about this year’s winner!

  1. Dave Fox Design Build Remodlers
  2. Nth Degree Interiors
  3. The Cleary Company

Best Landscape Company

  1. GreenScapes Landscape Co.
  2. Ciminello’s Landscaping
  3. Hidden Creek Landscaping

Best Senior Living Community

  1. Westerwood
  2. Grove City Senior Living by Traditions
  3. The Coventry Senior Living

Best Roofing Company

  1. Newman Roofing
  2. Feazel
  3. Regency Roofing - ShakeMasters

Best HVAC Company

  1. Atlas Butler
  2. Columbus Worthington Air
  3. Air Quality Solutions

Best Moving Company

  1. Two Men and a Truck
  2. Leaders Moving & Storage Co.
  3. Black Tie Moving

Best Window Company

  1. Rosati Windows
  2. Pella Windows & Doors
  3. Andersen Windows

Best Plumbing Company

  1. Eco Plumbers, Electricians, and HVAC Technicians
  2. Jack L. Woods Plumbing Co., Inc.
  3. The Waterworks Plumbing, Drain, Heating & Cooling

Best Local Bank

  1. Telhio Credit Union
  2. KEMBA Financial Credit Union
  3. Heartland Bank

Best Realty Team

  1. TIE: The Nth Degree Team (Coldwell Banker Realty) and The Mathias Team (Cutler Real Estate)
  2. Sam Cooper (Howard Hanna)
  3. The Powell Buehler Group (Coldwell Banker Realty)

Best Cabinets

  1. Amish Originals Furniture Co.
  2. Miller Cabinet Company
  3. Signature Cabinetry

Best Hardscaping Company

  1. GreenScapes Landscape Co.
  2. Hidden Creek Landscaping
  3. Omni Pools & Scapes

Best Pools and Hot Tubs

  1. Scioto Valley
  2. Omni Pools & Scapes
  3. Chevron Pools & Spas

Best Furniture

  1. Amish Originals Furniture Co.
  2. RH (Restoration Hardware)
  3. Ethan Allen

Best Design Showroom

  1. Hamilton Parker
  2. Carr Supply
  3. TIE: Stone Mart and Nth Degree

Editor’s Picks

Best Local Female-Founded Company 

Bake Me Happy

Owned and run by Letha and Wendy Pugh, this bakery has changed the world of gluten-free snacks in Columbus. Made with ingredients from other local businesses such as Krema Nut Company, the company’s cookies, scones, muffins and more can be found at its two brick-and- mortar locations, as well as several partnership locations such as The Ohio State University campus and Core Café at the Bob Crane Community Center.

Best Local Athlete

Jack Sawyer

Growing up in Pickerington playing for Pickerington High School North, the 6’5” defensive end joined the Buckeyes in 2021 and helped bring home the National Championship title to close out his senior year. During the 2025 NFL draft, he was picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round and will start his NFL career as linebacker this fall.

Bloom Where You Are Planted by OG Millie

Created by Queens-based muralist and artist Kamille OG Ejerta, known as “OG Millie,” this floral mural sits on South McDowell Street around the corner from Idea Foundry. OG Millie collaborated with Oakland Green Interiors to create the piece for the housing community Gravity.

Best Nature Trails

Blendon Woods Metro Park

Just off state Rt. 161 near New Albany sits a wooded oasis that transports visitors to a piece of the forest not far from the city. Made up of miles of trails and family-friendly spaces such as a playground and shelters, Blendon Woods is a great spot to get out and be one with nature.